Konica Minolta awarded BLI 2023-2024 Pacesetter Award in Remote Service from Keypoint Intelligence

Langenhagen, Germany, 10 November 2022

Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe has been awarded the Buyers Lab (BLI) 2023-2024 Pacesetter Award in Remote Service for the Western European market from Keypoint Intelligence, the world’s foremost market research firm and independent evaluator of document imaging hardware, software, and services. Based on research, this award recognises Konica Minolta as having the leading remote service offering. The award assessed seven key areas: Vision, Innovations, Achievements (customer reach), Serving the Remote Worker, Serving the Enterprise, Regional Marketing, and Channel Activities.   

Remote services are becoming increasingly important as more and more companies adopt hybrid forms of working. After the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Konica Minolta set out to establish “Remote Service by Default and Design” in Europe to eliminate the need for on-site service. In its summary of the award, Keypoint Intelligence highlighted Konica Minolta’s “strong vision and innovative offerings that enable companies to solve technical issues remotely with ease, supporting hybrid workforces.” It also praised “augmented reality (AR) functionality through AIRe Link, Konica Minolta’s visual support tool so technicians can look at issues remotely in real-time without the need for on-site visits”. Konica Minolta’s easy-to-optimise and comprehensive tools would “ensure devices get the kind of service that is needed for any given issues that arise” and to serve customers “quickly without the need for much administrative work”.

“Konica Minolta is leading the charge in providing exemplary remote services to fix MFP devices in the Western European market,” said Keith Haas, Analyst at Keypoint Intelligence. “Between the development of AR technology with AIRe Link, continually enhancing predictive models, and providing enterprises with various services to monitor and manage their remote workers among other points of innovation, Konica Minolta’s customers are set to work productively and efficiently regardless of where they work.”

André Ziemann, Head of International Service at Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe commented, “We are proud to be recognised in the latest BLI Pacesetter Award by Keypoint Intelligence. As part of our vision for the digital workplace, which we call the Intelligent Connected Workplace, Konica Minolta has implemented a ‘Remote by Default and Design’ approach to assisting customers.”

He added, “We have more than 800,000 remotely managed print devices in our IOT platform (DRM), with ~25,000 Machine-to-Machine communications per month. Our clients experience not only fast and qualitative support responses as well as maximum service uptime, but also reduced workload for their own IT operational teams. Through this approach, more than 30% of all support calls are nowadays solved remotely without the need for an on-site intervention. For Konica Minolta this means we can keep offering high value competitive service while further decreasing our CO2 emissions.”

If an issue can’t be fixed remotely, Konica Minolta’s team can use its Remote Services and Support portfolio to guide a user or member of the customer’s IT team through the resolution process on the spot. Additionally, if a field engineer visit is needed, it can gather information about the issue in advance to make the visit as efficient as possible.

To judge the award Keypoint Intelligence invited the top document imaging OEMs to participate in an in-depth study covering a comprehensive range of remote service areas. Its analysts then applied a proprietary scoring matrix to determine the winner in the Western European market.

About Keypoint Intelligence

For 60 years, clients in the digital imaging industry have relied on Keypoint Intelligence for independent hands-on testing, lab data, and extensive market research to drive their product and sales success. Keypoint Intelligence has been recognized as the industry’s most trusted resource for unbiased information, analysis, and awards due to decades of analyst experience. Customers have harnessed this mission-critical knowledge for strategic decision-making, daily sales enablement, and operational excellence to improve business goals and increase bottom lines. With a central focus on clients, Keypoint Intelligence continues to evolve as the industry changes by expanding offerings and updating methods, while intimately understanding and serving manufacturers’, channels’, and their customers’ transformation in the digital printing and imaging sector.

About Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe

Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH, based in Langenhagen, Germany, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta Inc., Tokyo, Japan. With its unique expertise in imaging, data processing and data-based decision making, Konica Minolta creates relevant solutions for its customers – small and medium-sized businesses, large enterprises and public sector – and solves issues faced by society.

As a digital workplace solution provider, Konica Minolta helps its clients to identify and unlock the potential digitalisation holds and reach the next level in the digital maturity of their organisation by rethinking the workplace. In support of an ‘Intelligent connected workplace’, Konica Minolta offers cloud, IT, managed print and video solution services for remote working, collaboration, workflow management and automation and security. The company’s success in driving transformation is also confirmed by IDC, since the ‘IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Print Transformation 2020 Vendor Assessment’ stated that Konica Minolta is ‘recognised globally as a leader in print transformation’. Konica Minolta has been a Microsoft Global Managed Partner since 2021.

Konica Minolta’s Igniting Print Possibilities offering helps printers, converters and brand owners maximise workflow automation to increase efficiency. The company delivers consultancy in all communication matters as well as top-of-the-line production, packaging as well as label printers. Its finishing devices create print products that stand out and create added value. Konica Minolta has established itself as the production printing market leader for more than a decade in Europe (InfoSource).

For an increasing number of organisations, success today is more than the narrow definition of financial prosperity – it also includes protecting the environment and having a positive impact on their workforce as well as the societies they are embedded in. With its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Konica Minolta has pledged to consistently pursue its sustainability and social responsibility goals.

The company has been repeatedly recognised for its rich history of social contribution as well as for working towards achieving the SDGs throughout its business and supply chain. Konica Minolta is listed among “2022 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World” and received the highest level in EcoVadis Sustainability Ratings.

For its innovative service approach that complements their devices perfectly, Konica Minolta was awarded the prestigious ‘Buyers Lab PaceSetter Award for Serviceability and Support 2020/2021’ from Keypoint Intelligence.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe is represented by subsidiaries and distributors in more than 80 countries in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. With approximately 8,700 employees (as of April 2022), Konica Minolta Europe earned net sales of over EUR 1.9 billion in financial year 2021/2022.

Worldwide, the company has over 39,000 employees and is operating in over 150 countries.

For more information, please visit https://www.konicaminolta.eu/eu-en/news and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook and YouTube.

Terms and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are hereby acknowledged.

Contact

Melanie Olbrich
Konica Minolta
Business Solutions Europe GmbH
Phone: +49 (0)511 7404-5337
[email protected]

SOURCE Konica Minolta